Many types of support structures for holding and positioning patients during various diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures are known in the art. Surgical tables and accessories for positioning a patient in a prone position are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,577,177; 4,398,707; 4,444,381; 4,583,725; 4,662,619; 4,712,781; 5,009,407; 5,444,882; 7,234,180 and WO 2006/110703. The advantages of using a Wilson laminectomy frame, which maintains patients in a prone position for spinal surgery and reduces Intraabdominal Pressure (IAP) to reduce venous blood loss during spinal surgery is described by Chang Kil Park, MD, Anesth Analg 2000; 91:552-7. One disadvantage of using various types of frame devices devised previously has been the enormous effort needed to lift and position the patient. This is why only a few academic centers use the position; they have the staff necessary to do the heavy lifting.
Despite the knowledge that positioning a patient in a prone position is advantageous, none of the prior art devices or techniques has provided satisfactory results. The present invention is directed to providing a frame device that maintains a patient in a knee-chest, kneeling, prone position during a laminectomy procedure and provides improved reductions in IAP and venous blood loss and improved visibility to the surgeon during the procedure.